The Seattle Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), established on October 23, 1913, was the first branch of the national civil rights organization formed west of the Mississippi. The Seattle Branch charter names the Association's objective "to uplift the colored men and women of this country by securing to them the full enjoyment of their rights as citizens, justice in the courts, and equality of opportunity everywhere". Leticia Graves, first Chapter president, along with twenty-one other founding members, made it their first task to protest President Woodrow Wilson's policy of segregating black federal employees. In 1915 the NAACP protested the showing of D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation" at local movie theatres. In 1921 the Seattle NAACP lobbied against an anti-intermarriage (miscegenation) bill that was being proposed in the state legislature, successfully defeating the issue.
In the early 1920s, the emergence of a new civil rights organization, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), drew many blacks away from the NAACP, leaving it dormant. In 1928, after UNIA's controversial president, Marcus Garvey, was deported, the NAACP became reactivated in Seattle by new Chapter president Lodie M. Biggs. During the years of the Great Depression, the Chapter successfully blocked anti-intermarriage bills in the state legislature, began a campaign against police brutality, leading to the conviction of three Seattle police officers, and advocated for fair employment practices.
Throughout World War II, 45,000 blacks came to Seattle, resulting in an increase in NAACP membership from 85 to 1550 members. During this time, although it had been illegal since 1890, "whites only" signs began to appear in the city's stores and restaurants. The Branch filed lawsuits with the city to ensure that the law was enforced. In 1947, the Association marched to support the hiring of future Seattle Branch president, Thelma Dewitty, as the city's first black school teacher. During the 1940s the Seattle Branch sponsored the creation of new NAACP chapters around Washington state, in Bremerton, Walla Walla, Vancouver, and the Tricities.
In the 1950s, in response to the limitations on housing for minorities outside Seattle's Central District, the Branch began campaigning for a citywide fair housing ordinance. Efforts to establish open housing continued for a decade and finally, in 1968, a fair housing ordinance was passed. The 1950s also brought lobbying for the promotion of black police officers, protests against the segregation of the city's golf courses, and passage of a state law eliminating the designation of race on driver's licenses.
The civil rights movement made major strides during the 1960s and the NAACP was at the forefront in Seattle. Labor and Industry practices were a major concern during the 1960s, and the Branch challenged the hiring practices of major retail stores such as the Bon Marche, Nordstrom, and Frederick and Nelson, as well as the grocery chains Safeway, Albertson's, and Tradewell. In 1965, then president E. June Smith helped found the NAACP credit union to provide affordable loans to the community. The Branch also provided legal support to anti-discrimination protesters who were arrested while marching in city offices and on the campus of the University of Washington.
During the 1960s and 1970s education became a primary focus. Among its many efforts, the Branch supported a March 1966 boycott of Seattle's Central District schools, calling attention to a lack of progress with desegregation. The Chapter continued to stage protests and threatened legal action. In the 1970s, Seattle Branch president, Lacy Steele, led the movement to desegregate Seattle schools through the busing of black students to white neighborhoods. In 1977, Seattle became the largest city in the United States to desegregate its schools without a court order.
In 1978 the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) program was established. This "Olympics of the Mind" encouraged young black people toward academic, creative arts and cultural excellence. Competitions are still held and scholarships awarded. Focus on youth continues to be one of the biggest components of the Seattle NAACP.
The Seattle Branch also focused on law enforcement. In 1964, the NAACP successfully campaigned for the promotion of the first black Seattle Police sergeant, and in July 1965 it established "Freedom Patrols"--citizen groups who followed white police officers on their beats to insure that citizens' civil rights were not violated. Police brutality was still a major issue during the 1980s. On January 19, 1983 a black prisoner named Riley Frost died in the King County Jail after a guard used a controversial choke hold to subdue him. After protests by the Seattle Branch, the King County Executive office invited Mr. Steele and other civil rights leaders to form a King County Task Force on the Use of Force to study the issue. The County ordered the practice curtailed seven months later. Complaints of discrimination by black prisoners in the 1980s led to alliances with the Black Prisoners Caucus and Black Prisoners Assistance Coalition of Washington. The Branch also formed the Hollow Point Bullet Review Committee and protested police shootings of blacks.
The Seattle NAACP continues to be a leader in the fight for black equality. From the 1990s to the present, the Association has focused on voter registration, equal employment opportunity, the creation of new economic development for black entrepreneurs, political recognition, elimination of drugs and prostitution in black neighborhoods, and legal redress.
In 1998 Lacy Steele retired from his position of Branch president after 26 years. Oscar Eason, Carl Mack and Alfoster Garrett all served as presidents after Mr. Steele, and in 2006, Sheley Secrest was elected to the position.
NAACP Seattle Branch presidents:
The collection includes photographs of members and leaders of the Seattle branch of the NAACP and various events.
Most of the collection has been digitized and can be viewed on the Libraries Digital Collections website. Access to the original photographs is restricted. Contact Special Collections for more information.
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Gift from Seattle NAACP, July 15, 1964, 2005.
Processed by Don Romero, 2016.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Lacy Steele is holding a flyer for annual Freedom Fund Disco-Cabaret.